The Dance
by Atheniandream
Summary: Summary : A Series of moments from 2.16 onwards. The Timeline is unfixed. **WARNING** SPOILERS FOR 'WAR' SEASON 2 FINALE. NOW RATED M FOR CHAPTER 6
1. We've got a War to fight

******Notes: Spoilers for SEASON 2 FINALE **

* * *

**The Dance** By Atheniandream

* * *

_Oh, can't anybody see_

_We've got a war to fight_

_Cannot find our way_

_Regardless of what they say,_

_How can it feel this wrong?_

_In this moment_

_How can it feel this wrong? ~ 'Roads', Portishead_

* * *

The Plaza was dancing with Partners, Associates, Assistants, Receptionists and Benefactors, all passing and linking and flowing around one another like they were engaged in a misshapen dance. It was the way at parties; introduce yourself, say 'hi', connect, charm and move on to the next. To those whom you knew, or who remembered you from before, this was a chance to strengthen a friendship; seal a deal or connect on a level that you hadn't established the last time.

For Mike it was probably a nerve rackingly overwhelming experience, but for Harvey? It was child's play… a perfunctory and practised gesture of social elegance. Something he had picked up quickly. And it occurred to him; Mike may well be a strong lawyer and ahead of his class, but his talents were built on truth, on chivalry and seeking out the fact; real from the fake. Harvey's power was still about truth, but it was wholly about people. Anyone could deny a fact in front of them, but almost no one can deny themselves in front of truth when someone called him on it. It had taken him to meet Mike to now understand and accept the distinction. He'd told Mike that he wasn't the best; but when it came down to it, it wasn't about 'best'. Mike was a good lawyer, and razor smart, and sure he was so honest that he got himself in trouble most days, but that didn't make him any less than. Harvey could respect that; the fact that someone had risen above him and not by walking the same line. However, in this pool, Mike could be seen drowning, keeping with the herd, not bothering to venture out and make a social name for himself. He sure had a way to go in developing his social skills on a 'schmoozing' level.

He watched Mike, swimming around Rachel - whom he'd gotten to know only very recently – clad in a very tight black number with white woven detail on the top and her hair in a delicate bun at the back of her head. He understood now. At first he'd just assumed that she was some bimbo paralegal, stupid enough to fall for Mike; but Donna's insistence that she was a very smart and capable member of staff had opened his eyes a notch. Her integrity spoke to him first – like Donna had said, damn her – and the rest had followed. Soon she had softened him, and although he would not let on in a million years, Harvey Specter now had a soft spot for Rachel Zane. She was a sweetheart, and almost one hundred percent gold; which is why he knew Mike should not be flirting with her at this very moment; his lips getting so close to her ear that he would probably be able to smell her shampoo. He knew about girls like her – hell he'd dated a few – girls who never really understood their lure and would forever play in a sea of contempt with the face of an angel. She was harmless, unless you were the right man. And Mike, Mike was… bait.

His attention was caught on a knife edge as Rachel's eyes moved to the stairs, widening to take in the view. He knew instantly.

In a haze of her, the misogynist side of him couldn't help but think just how well his money looked on her; it had never been so well spent. The black chiffon dress hugged everything she had to give, from the strapless detail to the tiny waist she had – that he'd never really noticed until now – teamed with a fishtail that splayed out as she glided expertly down the long expansive flight of stairs. Her hair hung in long waves teamed with this heavy necklace of black and silver. He'd been impressed enough until he'd seen the Manolo Blahniks'; a flurry of silver and diamond bows peeking out from under the skirt edge as she flicked the dress out of her way.

_Who was this woman…really…?_

He checked himself by the time she'd reached the bottom, but he suspected she'd already seen something in his expression to tack onto. Luckily Rachel had flown into an unsuspecting rescue.

"Oh my god, Donna! You look… **Wow**!" She said.

He levelled his expression, chancing a look at Mike who delivered a less than supportive glance toward him. He was no help…

"Hey guys, wow Rachel, very nice…" She said, slightly flipping her hair. "I'm just going to get a drink. I'll be back in a sec, anyone want anything?"

He swore that she almost winked at him.

* * *

The moment Donna had swept through the doors it had occurred to her that this was a bad idea. She should have kept it low-key, gone with something understated and more her reflective of her position. But she couldn't help it. Just because she was an assistant, it didn't make her less than. By nature she was dynamic, dramatic and often loved to be the centre of attention. She'd made peace with it years ago when she'd given up the theatre, but in the world of Attorneys she had always played it safe, kept herself reserved, measured. But she was not one of these people. This was the knowledge that kept her sane, kept her ahead of the game; kept them where they were today and she was not about to quash the fact. Plus this silent niggle in that back of her head every time she saw Scottie made her want to dress in violet and wear red lipstick every day and she supposed that this was maybe a factor in her thinking when she'd bought the dress. Scottie was beautiful; the kind of beauty that developed naturally in her teens and flourished from then on without much aid; the childlike face, thick wavy hair and innocent demeanour making it her biggest asset against her hard soul and cut throat attitude. But Donna was not like this, she wasn't blessed petite and innocent and alluring. She was strong and fiery and controlled. And this was her awakening.

As she took the stairs and was confronted with the view; an open glass laden Plaza of the masses; four floors of people stuck into one square-footage, mingling and drinking and talking as one. She felt a bubble of excitement; or was it nervous excitement? She couldn't tell which, but her feet kept moving until she was met with her gruesome threesome. Rachel looked divine; clad in Roberto Cavalli; all black and white and elegant; Mike looking adorably too young for the size of his bowtie and Harvey… Harvey fitted every inch of suit, like a James Bond stand-in. She tried to not let the latter stall her but it wasn't easy. The way he clenched his jaw, narrowed his eyes and pouted slightly at her made her slightly gin soaked head – she'd had two since getting ready, just for nerves – dizzy at the sight. She puffed up.

"Oh my god, Donna you look…Wow!" She blushed at her gushing friend. Rachel was a nice girl but she didn't gush unless she genuinely felt it.

But the boys… they acted… a little differently. Mike seemed to be avoiding her gaze and looking at Harvey… and Harvey… well, Harvey was kind of squinting at her and Mike simultaneously; making her feel less and less like the goddess she'd recited to herself in bedroom mirror. An instant dislike of the situation caused her to flourish a little.

"Hey guys, wow Rachel, very nice…" She said, slightly flipping her hair. "I'm just going to get a drink."

She noticed Harvey's eyes narrow even more, so she jumped in, just to avoid any confusion or indication of how she was really feeling. "I'll be back in a sec, anyone want anything?"

She was met with she three annoying faces all shaking their heads at her in varying paces like those plastic dogs you put on the dashboard.

* * *

Her tapping her purse didn't seem to be getting the attention of anyone at the bar, and all she wanted right now was a drink; however an aimless waiter appeared at her side and she managed to swoop a glass of champagne and stand by an island to drink most of it before grasping another as the boy continued on his way through the crowds. Her heart was beating ten to a dozen against the lulling jazz quartet playing in the background so much so it could have proved a duet.

"Donna, fancy seeing you alone! That is** some** dress."

She heard the words as she turned to meet Scottie; small and dainty dressed a vampy almost naked crimson with a netted see-through plunged neckline. She looked gorgeous and innocently devious as she sidled up to Donna placing her glass opposite hers.

"Scottie, on your own I see?"

"I didn't come with Harvey if that's what you mean,"

"I didn't mean that in the slightest. How are you?" She smiled her most convincing smile.

"Good. You look…fantastic."

"Thanks. You too," She said, trying not to let the 'bitchy' get her.

"Has Harvey seen you yet?"

Her eyes narrowed as she bowed a little to meet Scottie's height. "Excuse me?"

"In that dress, I mean… I'm surprised,"

"Harvey's over there if you're looking for him, Dana." She replied, hard edge now creeping in.

"I've seen him already."

"I bet you have." Donna said, playing with the flute of her glass.

"I know what you're really up to,"

"Do you?" She indulged, the edges of her voices sharpening her already pointed expression.

"You love him."

"Do I?"

"Yes. It takes a woman who's slept with him to know it."

"Really…do you love him?" She continued to indulge, almost on the edge of condescending.

"You're a smart woman, Donna. I think you know where this all ends."

"Do I?"

"Yes… Lawyers don't end up with **assistants**."

With that the young woman swept away; not only leaving her champagne on the side and making her way towards her friends and Harvey. A fire flared up in her belly and she downed her drink, letting it clatter against the stone table knowing the woman wouldn't worry to look behind her and see the frustration in Donna's eyes as she straightened up, looking for anyone she knew to cushion the blow. Assistants and Paralegals weren't interested in these kinds of parties unless they had an intimate or at least a close personal work relationship with their bosses. From Mistresses to confidants only the very loyal or the very stupid could be seen at these parties, and she mingled with neither. Perhaps they both reminded her of positions that she would rather not be affiliated with or perhaps it was that neither was a good fit in her eyes when she thought of them. But often, it left her without a place to be at these kind parties. Thank god that Rachel was here. Only, in this instance Rachel was with Mike, and Mike was with Harvey and Harvey was with Scottie.

A Sticking Point, to say the least.

"Donna?"

The moment she heard the sound of his voice she felt an odd sense of calm and ease at the person calling her name.

"Louis."

"You look… well, words do not do you justice."

"Thank you Louis," She said, her eyes travelling away from his sincere yet slightly leery gaze.

"He hasn't said anything has he?" He said, causing her reverie to break and posture to stiffen.

"Who?"

"Harvey of course… don't worry Donna, I've known for a while."

A bitter flame rose in her chest as she snatched a look at him. He answered before she could form an argument.

"Before I ripped you apart on the stand… I suspected a long, long time ago, though. I suppose that makes it worse, that I knew…"

"Don't feel bad." "My bonus bought this dress. It's Lanvin, a conciliation prize."

"**He** should be yourconciliation prize."

Louis being so honest only made her nerves twitch and electrify through the heavy daze of fizzy alcohol keeping her silent.

"I know I'm speaking out of turn, but you deserve more…_ that_, at least. You've proven more than his match and you've been loyal and instrumental to his success for as long as he's been back from the DA's office. You are a jewel, Donna and it disgusts me that he doesn't give you his full attention. "

His eyes found her in a moment of rare truth. He continued,

"I was completely in love with Monica. But you….you, are a rare and beautiful creature to be admired, if not loved wholly. Harvey doesn't even know what he has. It sickens me."

"Don't be mistaken Louis, he has nothing."

"Don't be mistaken Donna, he has you. However much he isn't worth a dime of it."

Her breath was suddenly gone, all appropriate breathing lost.

"I'll be right back. Look after my drink and try not to let anyone steal it." She said.

She knew he was being strangely honest with her but it soothed her to lecture him upon common ground and closer to banter.

The bathroom would be her sanctuary for five or so minutes until she caught her breath.

* * *

She heard the jazz in the background as it reverberated against the walls; a dull hum of a bass line in playing against the paintwork as she stared into the mirror. She'd been here for at least seven minutes; any longer and people would suspect something. She'd seen people pass through the doors but luckily no one had come to find her, no doubt between Scottie entertaining them and Louis having the forum she'd looked appropriately occupied for the time being. Seven minutes was enough time to go the bathroom, sort her makeup and talk amongst people whom she had bumped into – if any – and return without so much as a whimper. Hell, with the size of the place she was sure she could do a lap of the partners and not return until the fifty minute mark. The venue was large, and if a man had swept her up it was conceivable if not slightly out of character that she'd be gone longer.

But she was Donna; and love never really happened to her these days, so she'd make her way make her way back in a minute or so and pray that Scottie had moved on.

* * *

Really wanted to get something in before the Finale! Cannot wait!

As always, please feed the Kitty! 3


	2. If it feels like losing

**THE DANCE **By Atheniandream

**NOTES & SUMMARY (important please read)**

I've changed the idea for this, into a series of moments from 2.16 onwards. This Story will feature bits and pieces that will be sometimes canon, but let's just say slightly AU so I can have a good old play.

The Timeline is unfixed, but will keep going back to the Managing Partner Party. (Stole the idea from reading the best out there, keep going guys)

* * *

_'If it feels like losing…'_

* * *

In this one moment of her life Dana Scott felt both indebted to and utterly toxic towards Harvey Specter.

On the one hand, he had ousted her, disposed of her during his battle with the 'British Firm', only to retrieve her job for her in the next moment. What had made it worse was that a man such as Harvey could not only make her look inferior to her Bosses from all the way over the pond, but even when they came here and showed him up, he still, *still* had the power… and the fucking upper hand. It was ridiculous.

But on the other hand, she was completely and incredibly in love with this poison dart spectacle of a man.

Yet even after getting her job back and showing a might of feeling towards her he was now having her shipped back to England within 24 hours. She'd wished Darby had left that part about choice of location completely of it out, she didn't need to be told that. But she was sure that Darby couldn't help himself, however noble he deemed Harvey to be the fact was that-

He didn't love her.

At the very least, not enough to keep her here. In his city.

She'd noticed it first when she'd seduced him in the private jet. He'd seemed withheld then, not wanting to cross a line he would have previously jumped at. Something had been different in him this whole time and she was still ignoring it, willing it away as her restraint and control against him had come tumbling all the way down. It pressed on her with a weight of how much of her was tied to this man, and how she had played everything so very wrong.

She had been a fool to think that he'd be able to see the truth, and that she really did want their names on the same door, on every kind of door. Hell, their names were written all over her, she may as well carry on the tradition. Write it all over the walls for all she cared. She'd held her place in his history for so long; her territory of him marked and her place in his life always open whenever she'd returned. But something was shifting now, a new balance was coming into play.

The problem was that he had hardened recently; maybe he'd started hardening gradually and only when she wanted to stop the dance and see the softer him had it actually dawned on her. You can be screwing a guy and they can seem like so much until you try to get to their hearts… she thought he, they, were different. _More than that…_

Maybe she had missed the boat.

It wasn't lost on her, how since he'd come back to Pearson Hardman, only two women were solid in his life, and she was not one of them. Jessica; with her overwhelmingly domineering exterior hidden in magic mirrors of grace and elegance under pressure; she had always been a force to be reckoned with, but lately Harvey and her had seemed strained and more fragmented than ever. He had kept referring to Jessica and herself as the same. Maybe in this moment of his life, fighting for Managing Partner, her hard work and vigour now seemed overbearing? He'd never challenged her nature before; hell, he'd only ever welcomed it as a course of their intensity to one another, especially in the bedroom.

Now the only woman it seemed the man hadn't faced against the wall was…

Donna.

Donna was smart. She always had been. The woman had always seemed like the fly on the wall. And clearly she hadn't been the only one to question the unusually close connection that she had with her Boss. She'd always been affected by Donna's effect on Harvey; her opinion mattering, her word often being final in his eyes. The unsaid trust. In the years she had ignored them becoming so close, so unbreakable and for what? Had she missed something.

She shouldn't have gone after Donna at the merger party. She could have easily told Harvey – although she doubted the woman had shared their razor-edged moment – and honestly she really didn't want to know the answer to whether she was in love with Harvey Specter.

**_But did Donna even have anyone?_** She supposed not. And that was always the reddest part of the flag. No man in the background and yet 200% focused on Harvey. It read like a tragic novel. Really, she couldn't hate the woman. But she envied the questionable position in her Bosses heart, or at least his esteem. Harvey Specter held Donna Paulsen the highest regard. He'd probably never ever let her leave the little desk outside his office.

And yet here she was with a one-way ticket back to London town.

Dana heard a knock on her hotel door, bringing her out of her gloomy reverie.

Her hand slid up the doorframe as she looked up and sighed at the visitor.

"Are you my 'going away' party?" She joked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Not this time. Can I come in?" He asked.

"Why are you here, Harvey?" Her face suddenly dropped, masking its usual game face.

"I just…wanted to see you. Before you left." He still seemed shut off again. She could tell, it didn't take a bedfellow - or whatever the British called it – to know. Her eyes took in his stiff and slightly 'worn-around-the-edges' demeanour.

"Ah. Thanks by the way, I was a little put out when Darby decided to tell me you'd chosen to ship me off to good old sunny England again." She joked, the half-smile betraying her slightly watery eyes.

He knew she was still brusied from that. "Look Scottie, you and I, working side by side everyday… It wouldn't work." He reasoned, face turning up in a slight grimace as he kept his hands firmly in his pockets. "We know each other too well,"

"Obviously not that well, otherwise I wouldn't be getting shipped off."

"Come on, I got you your job back." The slight alarm in his voice irked her.

"Which I wouldn't have lost if it wasn't for you," she chided.

"Well you shouldn't have baited my position in the firm! Dana, come on... I didn't come here to hash everything out." He rolled his eyes, piercing his lips at her.

"Hey, look, if you really want to get rid of me that badly then…I guess it's for the best." She straightened, walking farther into the bedroom.

"It's not about that. Scottie… look I,"

"Harvey…" She interrupted. "I'm am…thankful for you getting me my job back. I just…I'm hurt, okay? But ...I want you to know that I really did want **both **our names on that door. On any door…" She laughed bitterly at herself, her brow furrowing.

**_So, _**she thought dryly, **_so this is what being honest feels like_**_…_

"You should have been honest with me a long time ago Dana." He said, picking up her attention as if he'd read her mind. Her eyes started to glaze again when she realised that… this was it, something approaching the end of them. They had obviously both been too hard for too long.

"I know." She felt her resolve crumble, tears tickling at her eyes. "We both should have."

"Come here." He said, sweeping her into his arms, a hand smoothing her hair, letting her tears fall freely.

"I'm sorry," He whispered, kissing her hair.

"Me too," She replied, a hand coming up to wipe her eyes.

He held her and for a moment she nearly thought about grabbing and kissing him.

But instead she just…touched his tie delicately and smiled, letting him go.

"Goodbye Harvey Specter."

"Goodbye Dana Scott."

* * *

Some people fall, some people fall apart  
Some people fall while running in the dark  
Some people fall when they run out of luck  
Some people fall, some people fall in love ~ 'Fall' By Cider Sky

* * *

**_Sidenote:_**

Harvey says he doesn't play where he works. Which is BS A'BTW. (Ahem ZOE and yet not Scottie? He was going to date her whilst being at the firm in 5 years later?) But what boundaries does that have? Working on a case together? Working in the same Building? Same Office? Hmm…. Mind is reeling.

More coming soon.

* * *

Please feed Le Kitty 'Meow'


	3. I feel like I'm losing it

**THE DANCE**

_**'I feel like I'm losing it'**_

* * *

_'A Frustrated Young Man_

_Still carrying that note_

_Carrying that old note_

_Said I'm trying, trying hard to_

_Hold on to my home'_ ~ 'Don't wanna go the other way' ~ Cody Chesnutt

* * *

_All she wanted to do was get out of this dress… _

"Donna."

Suddenly she heard Harvey's distinct voice call out behind her, drawing her attention away from trying to hail a cab, causing her to just miss one by seconds as it sped past. Silently cursing in the dark she turned to watch him glide down the walkway towards her.

"Going somewhere?"

"Home." She replied.

"Me too. I'll take you."

She would have asked him 'why the rush' but she'd already found out from Mike that Jessica had all but set the gauntlet in response to Harvey's bet with Darby. After fending off Scottie's attack she wasn't really in the mood to ask too many questions but she couldn't help herself.

"Where's Scottie?" She arched an eyebrow, her tongue letting her teeth taste the consonants as she waited for the sting to take effect.

'Still inside" he said, simple, throwing a look towards the limo that immediately pulled up alongside them, the window rolling down.

"Donna… you are a vision in black." Ray crooned.

"Thankyou Ray." She smiled warmly as she scooted into the backseat of the limo, Harvey joining her on the opposite side.

"Are you sure that you don't wanna take that dress for another walk around Manhatten? I know a very nice restaurant, I'd be happy to take you to." Ray continued, glancing to Harvey through the rear view mirror, who gave him a nod. The man promptly nodded back.

"Oh, Ray, I think this dress has retired for the evening. And I'm sure you don't want to explain to your wife why you were out past your bedtime with a strange woman."

"My wife knows that no one holds a candle to you, Donna. She's come to accept that." He replied.

His gushing humour made her laugh out right, hand coming up to cover her mouth as her eyes locked on Harvey's. In these kind of moments he always took the position of slightly amused or slightly possessive.

"Stop hitting on my assistant, Ray, otherwise we'll find out just how much your wife knows." the steel dry edges of his voice peeled in jest.

"I can't help it. She's a knockout!" He argued jovially pausing the car at a stop sign.

"That, she is." He said, his eyes just grazing her periphery as she tried to seem nonchalant and not betray the peeking interest in her features as she watched the streets start to move again through her window. Her concentration was brought back to him as started speaking, lowering his voice a notch.

"I forgot to say… nice dress." He said, his voice slightly huskier than it had been earlier in the evening. It had been a long day.

"Thanks. You bought it." She joked, a look of innocence mixed with a hint of challenge on her pouting lips.

She wasn't an acute feminist. She didn't let any man tell her what to do, but she was also a realist. She knew how the world worked, she knew that women couldn't always be on top – although the dirty side of her welcomed that challenge – but she also knew when she could bend and flex the boundaries of gender to get what she wanted and still own up to a discrepancy.

She watched his eyes slowly roam her body as he had done earlier in the evening. It still left a slight singe in her belly as his eyes swept from her lips all the way down to her sparkly silver heels.

"I do have great taste." His lips quirked, jaw flexing to adjust them.

Suddenly everything in the car felt very serious and very, very dangerous.

"Harvey." She protested, her tone drying up in the corners of her mouth.

"What?" He said, not even flinching. **_Glorious Bastard…_**

"I know what you're thinking." Suddenly she felt like Ray was watching them both. She tried to check the rear-view mirror but the partition window was already three quarters of the way up.

A smirk appeared at his lips. "We've done it before" He said, voice suggestively low as his head bowed. "…If we set the rules first?"

Her skin was on fire, itching and burning and white cold at the same time. Her mind wasn't even defining the implications of what he'd suggested; instead her mind just fired replies.

"There were rules last time." The standing in her voice flaltered.

"No, there was just Whiskey…a dare, and **those** heels."

She had a very vague memory of **those** heels. She hadn't let herself wear them since...they were officially retired on the grounds of bad choice making on her part, and the her realising that he really, really loved a woman in heels. He hadn't let her take the damn things off.

"Harvey, I know you're pissed about what's going on with the firm but this is…this is a bad idea." She said; shaking her head and straitening up, appearing slightly taller than his seated form. She would have to be the level headed one in this instance, hell, someone had to be. "Besides, unlike many of the women in left in manhatten that you haven't bedded, I'm just not that stupid." She tried to ignore the 'again' that rang after her words.

"There's just one problem...I know you want to." His voice was like a spalsh of cold water wrapped in brown silk.

The limo came to a halt outside her building.

**_JUST_**

**_IN_**

**_TIME._**

_THANK THE HOLY LORD._

She turned back to confront him and his eyes still hadn't lost their smoulder as they bore into hers. He'd also managed his way to the middle seat in the car. She picked up her purse, inches from his hand, looking pointedly at him, trying to think of the worst teacher she'd ever had to channel in this moment.

"No, I don't. Maybe Scottie will want to go play... Goodnight Harvey."

Before she'd even gathered her dress enough to open the door he'd come around and opened it for her, holding out a hand. She examined it, eyes narrowing at him as she accepted his helping her out of the car. He hadn't left but a second until she'd found herself pressed flush against the open car door, his hands gripping her waist and mouth hungrily devouring hers. The kiss was quick as he retreated just enough; a slight whiskey hint to his breath in the cold air mingling with a silent question like a stop sign hanging on amber. His eyes waited for a prompt reply..or a 'Go' sign.

Donna Paulsen only had so much reserve.

You didn't need to ask her twice, she wasn't **that** kind of stupid.

She grabbed him roughly by his lapels, as he softened, allowing her to stuff him in the limo, a mess of hands and lips and limbs colliding around silk black fabric and Calvin Klein.

"Donna?" The Chauffeur called out from the front, confused.

"Just drive, Ray," She gasped, straining Harvey's tie as he pulled her into straddling his lap and scooped a hand into the top of her strapless dress as their lips fought. Neither heard the partition wall as it completely closed.

* * *

**Cufflinks...**

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIII **Collarbones…**_

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIII **Cartier…**_

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII **Manolo's…**_

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII III **Red lips…**_

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIII **Eyelashes…**_

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIII **Egyptian Cotton…**_

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII **Thigh bones…**_

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIII **Red hair…**_

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIII **Fingernails…**_

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I **Night air…**_

**Morning.**

* * *

Getting out of his bed wasn't too hard but creeping around Harvey's apartment in the stiff spring sunshine was like wearing smoke on your back. Luckily they didn't seem to be factoring spooning or anything so typically romantic into any of this, so she'd been easily able to slide out from under the sheets, ignoring the urge to look over at him again whilst doing so. When she'd first woken up, she had already been confronted with a ruffle in his almost perfect hair and the sound of him lightly snoring on his back; and that almost made her run out the door. Instead she took a breath, doing up the cuffs of the not so crisp white shirt she'd pulled on. She tip-toed over to her belongings, cursing silently at herself for what would now be a poignant walk of shame through a rather expensive building… that came equipped with a Doorman. A doorman who knew her… now, _vividly._

The keys in her bag jingled, causing him to stir.

_Damn it.._

"Morning," He half-smiled; his voice thick with sleep as one eye looked out at her stretching an arm out.

"Hey. I would have made you a coffee, but I didn't want to wake you."

She watched as he started to sit up, and then felt the oncoming formality of the work day and averted her eyes. He had his boxers on but for some reason, through the clear light of the next day it felt more than little awkward... _Again._

**_No, _**she reasoned, **seeing** **_Boxers would definitely not be good thing…because of..._**

She was suddenly petrified that he would move that duvet and…

"Nice Outfit. You coming to work like that? Jessica might...wait a minute that's my good tie!" He said, referring to his long shirt that hung loosely on her, tied in the middle with his duck egg blue tie.

"No I will not be coming to work like this…and you have three of these. Look, I'm not wearing THIS home" She gestured to the dress wrapped in her hands. "So I'm stealing this."

"Oh," He smiled, laying back against the small mountain of pillows, seemingly very un Harvey-like in his reaction to her taking his clothes. "I thought it was a souvenir."

"Oh no Harvey, that's what's the baby's going to be for."

She watched his face drop a notch, as a deliciously evil smile formed. "Kidding. We are fine." She said, alluding to the pill which she took every morning at 7:55am without fail and always before he came into the office.

"Seriously, how is that going to look less conspicuous?" He said, pointing to her black lingerie that glared with a starkness out from behind the white shirt.

"Because if someone sees me around Manhatten at 6:50 in the morning on their way to work, wearing the same dress as last night, then they're going to have a lot of questions, and they won't have any problem joining up the dots and answering them for themselves. Or better yet, making it up and then passing it on to their assistants."

"Donna, no one is going to say a thing. You know you can see your..."

"I know."

"But you can really see your-" He started to gesture and then promptly stopped.

"Alright already, I'm aware you can see it all!"

"It's not a problem…I've already seen it. Wouldn't hurt to see it again," He said cocking his eyebrow at her.

"Smooth. I've called a cab, It'll be here soon." She smiled trying to deflect him.

"I could get you in and out of that in like… 4 Minutes?"

"Do you really think that's impressive?" She said, scrunching up her face in mock disgust at his overly cocky behaviour.

"Okay we both know fourty five… just please, come back to bed." He said, whinging a little to her dismay.

The panic in her throat and was immediately quashed by his complete changing of what they had previouslt discussed.

"Oh NO Mister, we said that this was a '**one time'** thing. Harvey, we agreed." She warned, finger pointing at him.

"It is, just… time isn't up yet. And if you think about it, last night was…more…than…one time."

She frowned at him. He was past cocky, now he was just downright skirting over every single rule they'd ever made and all with a fiendish delight.

"I have to go, and YOU have to shower and deflate that ego of yours before WE have to be at work…**on time**."

She didn't even let him get out of bed before she slid open the front door and almost ran out of the building.

Why was she running?

For two reasons:

Firstly, just incase they did it again. Preventative Measure.

And Secondly, incase they were late, which they would be...then they'd have to arrive together. In the Limo. That Ray drove.

* * *

'I'm trying to hold on

Trying not to fall

But I feel like I'm losing,

Help me God I'm losing.

Don't wanna go the other way'


	4. I can't see where you're coming from

Thanks to everyone far for reviewing and following on me on this journey where I don't know where I am going! Mild/Moderate Swearing. I believe it exists in Harvey's head. ;-)

* * *

**The Dance **

**'I can't see where you're coming from'**

* * *

Harvey had accepted his punishment with a certain amount of grace and humility when it had first happened but now, a month down the line it felt like peddling backwards through a storm, awash with the tide; pulling him away from everything that he'd been building up to and sweeping him farther out to sea.

He was getting too old for this shit…

Only problem was, that he was stuck; fixed by Jessica's agreement – she'd made him sign that non-compete days after he'd lost and their firms had merged and signed and that had immediately gotten his back up. Being pushed into a corner was like flying red rag to a bull and Harvey wasn't sacred of getting his horns out.

But in all honesty he didn't want to leave. This firm, this office, it was his home… _It was their home_… he sure as hell wasn't going to give it up that easily. The worst part about it was that he didn't even feel remorse for any of it. He was playing nice now, sure, but he'd done everything to protect what was his and having to re-justify himself again was pure dog shit.

The only thing keeping him from taking the whole firm down was something that he had made sure was very firmly ensconced in his life most of the time. Right now the thing, her, **she**, was collecting her things and heading home, and for the last 15 minutes he'd been trying to stall her. He must have been losing his touch; either that or she was just really good at countering his tactics, which didn't suprise him; her job was to cater his every need through by knowing what he needed before he'd even decided himself. He watched her from the couch, scotch resting in hand, eyes dead set on following her form around the room, just in case she caught his eye and noticed that he was 'not pleased with how this was going down'.

"What?" She accused, stopping just short of the hallway, and exasperated breath puffing out at him.

_Gotcha..._

"What?" He echoed, voice sounding noncommittal, save for the slight smirk betraying the fact that he wasn't innocent to what he was doing.

"Are you going to continue to glare at me for the remainder of my time here? It's not going to make me stay, you know?"

"I can negotiate…what will?" He sat forward on his haunches.

"Nothing. Look, I have to go home and live in my apartment for just enough time so that I don't kill you in your sleep."

The way she looked at him, justifying herself by quietly accusing him had him beat. He negated arguing over his mood. It was obvious to both of them that he was in a foul one after the week of almost negotiations and many loose ends in cases. His strained relationship with Mike hadn't helped, and sure, he'd cast the first fire on that one but the kid needed to grow a bone.

"We both know you always fall asleep before me…" He said, changing the subject.

"I do wake up before you though. You think about that…." She said pointedly, the humour dimmed by a very matter-of-fact statement.

"Oh, I will." He said, sipping his scotch at her.

"You can't argue your way out of this one, Harvey. As much as I know you'd love to get your own way." She said, having decided she'd won, and continued picking up her things at random.

She was right. He loved getting his own way. It almost always ended up with her naked in some part of his condo and lately that seemed to be the only thing that he craved. That and the occasional fast drive, or glass of whiskey. He was becoming a 'simple things' kind of guy.

Accepting defeat, he peeled himself from the couch, setting his tumbler settle on the kitchen counter as he followed her down the long hallway, the ice rocking in its solitary sea of amber liquid behind him.

He opened the door for her, leaning against it as his arms folded against himself. He continued to glare at her as she grabbed her coat.

"Try not to set too many fires whilst I'm gone." She lectured, a shy smile creeping in when he advanced on her, pulling her a step back through the door and into his arms.

"Stay." He demanded, voice husky as his mouth hovered in front of hers, teeth gritting at the admission.

"Harvey, I shouldn't even be here in the first place." She said. The honesty in her voice hit him like a brick, long enough for her to place a kiss goodbye – now a routine with them - on his lips and smile knowingly before gliding out of there and leaving him standing, unmoved.

_She certainly had that illusive quality off to a tee..._

He swung the door, revelling in the hard swing as it slammed against the frame, making his way back to the Scotch.

Why were they doing this? He had started it; he was man enough to admit that, although he would always maintain that 'that' dress had started most of it. But what had actually triggered it? Even when the world had come undone around him, she had been strong and sturdy through it all. This elegant pillar of strength wrapped up in freckles and red hair. She was there, with an answer and an option at every turn. And she claimed not to need him, never sought him out for anything and never questioned when he wanted for things. She been like that for so long she'd practically become his furniture, or like a record on the shelf of his office.

But she wasn't furniture. She wasn't as simple or straightforward as a record. She was Donna.

And for now, her presence made him calm when all he wanted to do was to put his fists through the nearest wall and taste blood. When all he seemed to want to do was drink and drink and yet still wasn't able to be completely drunk enough to stop the ringing in his ears from all the hypocrisy flying over his head at 'Pearson / British Dickhead', he could come to her, and she would take the edge off in every way.

In the past, he'd vented his anger, channelled it into hot connections with women that he knew very little about and had wanted to keep it that way. Then Zoe had come back into the picture, and he'd found himself wanting…more again; for the first time wanting to take a slower route in life. And then she'd left, or had had to leave. Neither explanation particularly soothed him. Unfortunately it had stunted him, and his usual playboy attitude had been quashed under a barrel of ambiguity and left him standing, wondering, for the first time. He never wondered much where woman were concerned, but now? And Scottie coming back and doing what she had done hadn't really made a difference; he'd felt it before then. He didn't want to drop into the same old way they had, and even then he'd been taken over by her familiarity and undeniable beauty…. _How could he pass that up? _Even then in the back of his mind when he'd been seduced by her it felt like he had already changed. He wanted more. And - at the time – she didn't signify any more in a relationship than a sparring sex-partner.

He had been feeling impulsive after his talk with Jessica at the Merger Party and it had channelled it in its usual way. He just hadn't expected it to be with Donna. A part of him felt like he'd ruined a sacred mount of theirs by coming on to her then, but in truth it had just coincided with a moment of supreme clarity. In the mess of a Party for a cause he was being stitched along with, when he'd seen her standing on the steps, elegant, dangerous and so, so beautiful it had dawned on him. _How had he missed it?_

The first time had been a press, a glide, a mutual decision. They were friends and sure, she was attractive and young and they had been toeing the lines of a work relationship in its infancy. A 'mistake', they'd agreed; something to never do again and pray that it didn't impact on their relationship. Even now, he was sure it wouldn't. He was stepping more over the line than she was. But they were at the top of their game for a reason. There was no use weighing what they had to lose, because they would never let it affect work.

Ever.

Cardinal Rule.

He needed more Whiskey. All the personal reflection was starting to aggravate him. And she wasn't here to abate it.

* * *

I can't see where you're coming from,

But I know just what you running from,

And what matters ain't who's the baddest but the

Ones who stop you falling from your ladder ~~ 'Short Change Hero', By The Heavy

* * *

The next day had been packed with talks on a new changing of hands within a company Mike had helped bring in, and seeing as Mike was now back under his tutelage, Harvey was letting him take the reins completely with him overseeing along the way. The only problem with that was that the change of hands was going to a Marvin Rienkler, a man who already had a history of firing his lawyers at will and as a result they had so far been treated to a very bumpy road. But Harvey had agreed not to interfere, and had insisted that Mike get his hands dirty with this one. However, as per, Harvey was gradually getting edged in on the headache; not through Mike's particular fault but merely on the technicality of having been there in the background on the first meeting. The guy played by the book in the worst way and now he was waiting for Mike to get back with the details so that they could tuck this one away by the week's end.

It was moments like this where he used to talk to his father, catch up quickly, waste a little moment ignoring why he hadn't started a family like his brother, or why he hadn't been to see his father. It was funny what things you miss when they're not there anymore.

He sat back at his desk, hands bracing him in his seat as Donna entered the room.

He couldn't help but leer a little at her nowadays, now that it had been brought to his attention that those legs were indeed very long and very capable and how he could just take a full day on that thought.

"Okay, I've got a message from the Saks Corporation: they want to go over the pre-meeting details for Thursday. I've also got that copy of the declaration you wanted, and Brotter / Stephens is on the line." She finished, popping his messages on his desk in a fan. She seemed into fans lately…

"Tell them I'll call them back this afternoon, I've got to help Mike tie his shoelaces." He groaned under his breath.

"Harvey, that guy is a pain in the ass! Have you even met him? He eats technicalities for lunch." She argued. She was always batting for Mike's team. It annoyed him less and less these days.

"Mike needs to learn how to bite the bullet better." He countered. And with that, Mike came into view making his way down the hall.

"He is learning. This guy is whole other level Harvey, he almost takes a leaf out of your book." She chided, eyebrow quirking and letting the comment settle.

"And what exactly does that mean? I'm not like that guy." He said, getting up from his chair, getting ready to head out with Mike.

"When you're in a bad mood you are." She watched him with mirth as they silently challenged one another. Their… whatever you called it… 'relationship' was currently at that easy phase. It had been a long time, and possibly never a time in which this was a mainstay in his life, this constant ease with a person whilst still maintaining a verbal ball game.

When Mike entered they contained themselves but didn't move as the kid flurried in with a stack of papers and a coffee-drenched look in his eye.

"Hi, sorry I'm late." The young man mumbled, earning a look from Harvey which he transferred quickly to Donna.

"You know I do hope you get out of this deer-in-headlights thing before we hit the meeting? You look like a ten year old." He said, mocking his younger counterpart.

"That got caught kissing his cousin," Donna chimed, smiling sweetly at Mike and his slight disarray.

"Wow that happened to you too?" Mike chided, shuffling his papers on the edge of Harvey's desk before straightening his tie.

"**Mike.** You ready?" He asked, an edge creeping into his voice. "What is this? 'Day of the rookie'?"

"No I'm…I'm good. Let go kick this guy's ass." He said, gussying up a little.

"You might wanna start by sealing the deal and getting him to sign first before you hit him with the hard stick." Harvey reminded him gently.

"There's a soft stick?" Mike countered.

"Well, enjoy Babysitting." Donna smiled at Mike, eyes moving to Harvey as his eyes caught hers and a warm glow moved gently to the top of her cheeks.

"I better get more than five bucks for this. Don't wait up." He drawled, moving forward to kiss her soundly on the lips-

He kissed her.

He'd just kissed her.

In front of Mike. At work… **AT**. WORK.

In a second, his eyes went to Donna, who's face went from warm hazy contentment to a flurry of panic, eyes looking beyond the office to the hallway where his followed. Everything outside seemed unblemished and oblivious to them, but as they looked slowly towards Mike, he stood beside them, agog, eyes not quite sure where they should look and at the same time clearly living that entire moment in replay. You could see words forming in yellow and red in that head of his that you could read like a book.

There weren't many moments in which Harvey was taken aback.

But there was no going back on that.

This was a fuck up.

He was NOT this person. _This was…fuck._

Donna suddenly bounced into animation. "Well, I've got work to do, you two have fun."

She made an instant dart to the door, leaving him with Mike, who very silently started walking out the door with his files.

"Mike." He said in hush tones as they started to make their way down the corridor.

"What do you expect me to say Harvey, you're both hypocrites." He said out the corner of his mouth towards Harvey. "All this bullshit about how I needed to stay away from Rachel and do the right thing and Donna saying it was possible to work together without doing anything about it, and yet … you're both full of shit."

"Mike, you don't know anything." Harvey said, temper fraying just above Office decorum.

Mike, now officially angry, swooped back around to Harvey, pulling him into the nearest conference room that happened to by conveniently alongside, and shut the door, talking before Harvey could object to the out-of-line behaviour of his subordinate.

"That's your defence? All this time I felt bad for keeping the fact that Rachel and I slept together and that I told her about me, in a moment of complete panic and I've been walking around for weeks thinking what a bad person I was after you ripped me a new one over it, and yet here's you having your cake and eating it too?" He hushed his tone further, remembering the very public forum they were still in. It was like the den of Lions and Lambs and they could well be bait if they weren't careful, and glass was only so thick. "Does Jessica even know?" Mike asked.

"No. It's none of her business."

"See you say that, but just as you think you see fit to tell me how to live my life, she has no problem fixing every single term in yours. And what I see you failing to understand, in your infinite wisdom is that you're kissing her in front of me like I'm not even there. How do you think you're going to start acting in front of the rest of the firm, in front of Jessica, Darby… and how about Scottie when she comes to visit? She's going to notice something different and do you really want her ratting you out to Jessica?"

"We're late Mike. We have to go." Harvey said.

He had to give it to the kid, he had a point. But he didn't want to think about it. He did want to kiss her again though.

* * *

He had eventually arrived at her apartment at nine, after meetings ran late and she wasn't obligated to be there past 8. He'd reasoned that she'd made it back by the time he'd arrived in the limo. She hadn't invited him and he hadn't called, but the day's events had made his jaw ache and he needed to not only smooth over any cracks with the only bridge he seemed to have left, but also… he just wanted to lie next to her for the night.

He braced himself when she opened the door, his head feeling far too tired.

"Harvey. What are you doing here?"

Her question knocked him off edge. He wasn't used to being repeatedly questioned as if he was being rebuked. It had never happened with any of the other women…except Zoe.

"About today, I'm...I'm sorry." He said, shrugging a little in his expensive grey suit.

"Oh. Well, it wasn't just you. I think we both screwed up in that moment." She said, a small smile creeping into her lips.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." Her mouth had said yes but her eyes seemed to firmly be objecting. He followed her into the lounge as she walked through into the kitchen.

She immediately spun around with a momentum, features tensing. "Look Harvey, we can't do this anymore."

"What… why not?"

"What happened today, if that happens again…then everything is over. Everything will change. We've worked too hard to throw it all away."

"So you'd rather throw all this away," He added, trying to suppress the urge to frown.

"Harvey," She said, the way she said his name almost sounding like a plea of some kind.

"We can't go back after what happened." What he really wanted to tell her was that he didn't want to go back. But he hadn't changed that much. He was already feeling himself retreat a little, a little door closing.

"I don't even know how this happened, Harvey!" Suddenly her tact changed, and she became direct, purposeful. "Why did you kiss me that night? After the party, why did you offer to drive me home and then kiss me? You decided to kiss me before I even got in that car." She accused. She really did know him well. Didn't stop her making it hard for him though, she could be a master at that.

He felt something in his chest tighten, the moisture in his mouth dry up, his fists felt heavy but even through that he didn't seem to have an answer ready for her. All of a sudden his mind plucked something out of the air.

"You said that you were tired of me not for fighting for things that I care about."

She immediately cut him off, head shaking. "This is not one of those times, Harvey." For a split second she saw his real reaction and it unnerved them both. "Look, we have to be smart. We've not been smart so far and now Mike has seen something and even he thought it was a bad idea. Because he knows what's at stake, Harvey. We have time to sweep it all back under the rug and save what we've built up."

They stood in immeasurable silence, save for the high pitched humming sound of the damn refrigerator. She needed a new refrigerator.

"Fine." The only impulse he'd had for the last two minute fired at her like a rim shot. Her face corrected itself, not expecting that answer, until her arms came around herself and she levelled whatever she had wanted to say into something she felt she should say.

"Good."

"I should go. I'll see you tomorrow." He said. It felt like the most logical thing to say before he left. But through the thick fog of unsaid words it only left an even stranger taste in the air.

"Yeah."

He had no choice but to walk quietly out. She'd just broken them,

Broken _him._


	5. Wade in the Water

**The Dance **By Atheniandream

_'Wade in the Water'_

* * *

The moment that Harvey saw Donna being accosted directly by Scottie, his attention sharpened on them. He'd never in million years be foolish enough to get in the middle of that, but he could tell by the way Scottie leant, almost predatorily over the island at Donna, who was looking taller and more statuesquely steely by the second that Scottie was going in for the kill. He'd always noticed that there had been an edge between them, always smoothed over by their stubbornness to keep it from him, but he was smarter to the situation than he ever let on.

Scottie was threatened by Donna, she always had been. Ever since they'd first met, back when he and Donna had first come to Pearson Hardman. They'd only been there a month, and Scottie had made an entrance back into his life, with another case for them to fight over. At first, Scottie had demeaned their working relationship, trying to insinuate that they were more than just Lawyer and Secretary; but as the years rolled along and nothing change but Donna remained, Scottie seemed to get more and more agitated by the idea that Donna was one of very few people constant in his life. She could never work out a angle that perforated their bond and Donna had held her own every time by dodging her slights and under-the-table accusations of them. She'd known better than to accuse Harvey, and so she'd gently taken to directing her annoyance at Donna instead.

But lately, Donna had seemed to kick up the rug with regards to Scottie. He couldn't blame her, he himself was at the edge of patience with Scottie's constant cloak and dagger ways; concealing her real motives with the merger and generally playing any game in the book with him, so he was also on the defensive. But with him she was still trying to playing nice. With Donna, as he watched them both, Scottie seemed to be going in for the kill at a completely different level. He watched Donna's features harden as Scottie left her making a beeline for him. He hoped that Mike and Rachel would be sufficiently animated enough for him to avoid having to find out what had been said because he'd have to ask, if she so much as smirked at him in that way she did when she knew exactly what she was doing.

"Hi Harvey,"

"Scottie... You've met Rachel Zane, and my associate, Mike Ross?"

"Hi, I'm Dana Scott." She said, smilling cooly at the paralegal.

Rachel really was a saving grace, immediately smiling back at the smaller woman. "Nice to meet you; I hear that you used to go to Harvard with Harvey?"

"First in the class; Harvey, loved failing to beat me." She said, with a smirk matching the vampy burgundy material of her dress.

"It's not always about coming first, Scottie, you know that," He joked.

He hadn't meant for the jibe to be quite so laden with sexual innuendo but it was an effect that she had on him. Luckily Mike jumped in, seeming to sense the tension in the air.

"So, are you going to be stationed here or in London after the Merger is finalized?"

"Mostly here; although I'm sure Edward will have me liaise between the two, you know, act as a 'buffer'." She said, eyes matching Harvey's for a second.

"We all know how you love to 'buff'" He joked, sure that comment would go unnoticed by Rachel. Maybe not Mike, and Scottie would pick it up instantly.

_Yet she had no idea of what he was about to do to her supposed plan _He thought, as he felt the papers that Mike had given him rustle on the inside of his jacket.

His eyes left hers very noncommittally and couldn't help but train towards Donna, unmoved but now with Louis having ensconced himself on her. He'd never quite decided if Louis had a thing for Donna or if they were just friends in some strange way. He'd known about his unblemished love for Monica Eaton, but there was always something in the background insinuating that Louis held a candle for her. And of course, how could he not accost her this evening. She was stunning and vibrant; almost too much against the slightly drab backdrop of the muted blacks and pastel shades of all the other people in the room. She was red and black and silver and alarmingly un-assistant-like in that dress.

She looked like a date.

Why wasn't she someone's date?

Why wasn't she his date?

He was suddenly transported into a fleeting fantasy of him retracing his entrance into the building, walking down the steps not solo but with her on his arm. He would have been the envy of every single person in the room and all whilst feeling very smug that for the night at least, she would have looked like his.

And then it hit him,

Why wasn't she?

Why wasn't she someone's?

_Why wasn't she_**_ his_**_…?_

The rational part of his deductive reasoning was challenged by the logical part. Sure, they were co-workers, friends and she was his second-in-command, his confidant.

But as a woman…in that regard, what was she to him?

It had been a long time since he'd thought of her like that. He'd thought that door had closed a long time ago but judging by the prickly feeling he got looking at her legs, so exposed, seeming to run on and on as they joined the gathered black fabric making her waist look tiny and her silver diamond clad heels so-

"Harvey?" Scottie's incredulous voice brought him back to the present, where he'd realised he'd glanced perhaps for a moment too long at Donna when he'd zoned out, as both Rachel and Mike had followed his eyes and were now looking at him with a warning look.

"Louis was being…weird." He lied. Louis was always weird, that wouldn't help him.

"Right." Mike said, trying to supress the smirk forming on his smug face. _That kid was no help…_

"Well, I have something I have to do, if you'll all excuse me." He said, finding the perfect moment to escape both the looks of Rachel and Mike, avoid Scottie's remarks and do what he actually came here to do in the first place.

Take on Edward Darby. And put the firm right.

But the image of her legs was now burned into his mind. _He needed a drink..._

* * *

'Wade in the Water

God's gonna trouble the water' ~ 'Wade in the Water', Version by Eva Cassidy

* * *

Just a little Chapter there. More coming soon. I cannot wait for Season 2 Dvd extras I cannot even tell you... SQUEEE. :-)


	6. Bang Bang, You shot me down

Warning – Scenes of a sexual nature not the film but the warning.

* * *

The Dance – Bang Bang, you shot me down.

* * *

They had been working late going over memo after memo for a case involving a 'sexism in the workplace' act violation, and fifteen minutes more had turned into an hour and an hour had turned into more. Harvey had grown gradually weary over the course of the long week, so much so that his defensive wore paper thin. At the same time, his quiet acceptance of her decision to stop whatever they had been doing had been met with a second, more stubborn glance, and therefore he had done the worst thing possible and broached the subject.

"Harvey, I don't wanna talk about 'Us'." She almost snapped with a flicking shut of the file she had in her hands.

"Donna, Look, I get why you did it. But I just want you to know,

"Harvey," She started, eyes warning.

"I don't agree with it. I accept it and I understand it, but I don't agree with it."

"Okay." She said simply, straightening on the sofa, seeming to gather a thought, to then dismiss it, picking up the next file.

There was nothing more to be said. She was right. But just because she was right didn't mean that he didn't resent the fact. Bitterly resent the fact. But there was nothing left to say, for now.

This was what falling in love was like. He remembered this from very long ago. A slight twinge of pain mixed in with muted grief and the acute feeling of wanting the person in front of you whilst knowing, as if they were surrounded by a prison cell that you didn't have the key for, that you can't have them.

It was the first time in his life that he cursed his job, not just for being hit back from his path to Managing Partner, but for not being able to justify the need that he felt for wanting to have this woman a permanent fixture within his personal life.

* * *

He shouldn't have done it - kiss her - but he couldn't help it. The situation had brought out a jealously in him that made his skin crawl like it was on fire and the only thing he could think of to calm it was to get her back, claim her back, and her lips had been the first thing on his mind.

He really was a stupid son-of-a-bitch.

He hadn't expected the slap that came running across his face.

"I don't belong to you, Harvey. I'm sorry I'm seeing someone else. I didn't plan it… but you don't have any hold over me. Do you understand?"

He was too silently embarrassed at her publically slapping him in the street, that he hadn't even formed a reply.

"I didn't plan any of this Harvey."

"Neither did I?"

"I know you didn't" She agreed, voice thin as a whisper. At least she wasn't blaming him for starting the whole situation.

"I need you,"

"I know. But you can't have me the way you want, Harvey. You need to move on…we both do."

He guessed that he really was stupid for thinking that they were supposed to wait for each other.

Since when did he become such an idealist?

It was unbecoming for a former playboy turned eternal bachelor.

* * *

He'd known something was up the moment he'd heard her heels pace back to his office. She'd left ten minutes ago but he could pick out the sound of her walking out of a soundscape. She shut the door – first indication of change – and glided up to him as he sat on the sofa, letting her bag and coat fall to the floor.

"He asked me to Marry him."

He shut the book in his hands.

"Did you say 'Yes'?"

She stared at him for what seemed like the longest time, eyes wide, mouth agape at him.

"You know I can't." She finally answered, sinking onto the couch next to him.

They were at stalemate, both in agreement and at the same it was the worst outcome.

The tension in his chest channelled and suddenly he found himself leaning into her, hands all over as he pushed her against her side of the couch. They were playing with fire being out in the open of his office, but even though they were the last ones here, he really didn't care enough anymore.

He found himself hard and wanting as his hands pulled her roughly on top of him, fingers tracing the edge of her dress he silently thanked the fact that she'd taken to wearing these floating, stretchy dresses in the past year as opposed to overly tailored fabric. They fitted her shaped and were all too easy in pulling out the way. His hands came under to cup her ass as her ample chest all but grazed his chin. Her neck arched against her shoulders as he found a soft spot, breasts heaving slightly against him as she undid the zipper of his pants, feeling her coming down slickly around him.

If someone had come in or even so much as looked past the office, he wasn't even sure he'd have reacted, far too concentrated on the feel of her on him, helping him thrust deep into her, eliciting a long moan. How the whole experience could be so hot when they themselves were almost fully clothed wasn't a surprise; even when they had been regularly together for that short period of time; put them in two scuba suits and a tank full of water and they'd have found a way to get off on each other.

Her hold on his shoulders, nails digging through fabric seemed to make him quicken the pace as her lips found his in reply, lips and tongue and teeth mimicking with each thrust faster and faster until a strained moan felt out of her, him soon following.

For a long time just held him tight, not moving off of his lap as her lips kissed his soundly, her forehead leaning against his as her arms braced herself against the back of his leather couch.

It was minutes before either could say a thing, both still slowing their breaths to match the room.

"I want to do this."

"You know we can't. We agreed."

"I can't have you walking around with another man. I need you."

His admission seemed to increase the speed that she moved off of him and up to standing, straightening out her dress and finding her coat.

"So we wait it out." She said, resolute.

"I can't. Not anymore."

"We can. It won't be long, I promise. Remember why we're here, Harvey."

"Things change."

In the back of his mind he was really saying that she meant more to him than this job. For the first time she seemed to hear it. He was laying every card he had out on the table.

"We're so close, Harvey. If it kills me, we're going to get Managing Partner. And then,"

"Then we agree. Right here, right now." Her eyes held level with his. "The second we make it, I'm taking a month off. So are you. And we do this; properly."

"Okay." She smiled at him, an emotion he supposed was happy but that he couldn't really read fully.

"I better go," She whispered, checking behind her before capturing his lips for one last time and walking out of his office.

Security would have a field day with this one.

* * *

Sorry to make it M. Had been floating around unfinished and re-read just felt right.


End file.
